“It may be the dead of winter, but Zachary Cale’s latest offering is a welcome dose of sonic sunshine. The first taste of the songwriter’s forthcoming SKYWRITING LP, “Bigger Picture” is anchored by an irresistible guitar hook and a buoyant rhythmic groove from by Peter Kerlin. . . As is his usual MO, Cale expertly balances the sweetness of the music with a pinch of bitterness, detailing the strange sadness of a life spent on the road. ”
-AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
“With a slight whisky rasp, Cale lays out motel loneliness, Highway hypnosis, solitary meditations, dark secrets, and darker nights. The full band swells his sound — cool water pianos and guitars that slide across the soul with a plush velvet touch. There’s a tension between emotional turbulence and weathered acceptance. It’s a record coming to terms with itself and what it wants out of life — one toe in gig jobs, one toe in a touring life. Cale runs the tightrope well, providing solace and sanction at once, crafting one of his most nuanced albums yet.”
-RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES
“Cale is a multi-dimensional song-conjurer, capable of crafting songs that saunter and shimmer on the surface, but hold deeper, darker insights that reveal themselves upon repeated listens. ”
-BANDCAMP
“Skywriting, [is] one of his most fleshed-out, robust sounding albums to date, inspired by time on the road and packed with memorable songs and sparkling arrangements.”
-BROOKLYN VEGAN
“False Spring is a long, sweet ramble of an album. Like the view from an early morning flight, it assumes a vantage where everything looks still and glowing and peaceful. . .A companion for the long haul”
-PITCHFORK
“These are generous songs, filled with a need for connection and conversation… it’s hard not to hear 2020 in virtually every moment of False Spring ”
-AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
“[ False Spring ] is a raft in waters that aren’t so forgiving and it’s worth holding on tight.”
-RAVEN SINGS THE BLUES
“Whether acoustic or electric, his playing speaks to you plainly, directly and rather beautifully.”
-DUSTED
“Zachary Cale is a helluva guitar player, his understated picking patterns interweave like latticework, thrust through dusky production, whispering and lush strings…”
-Lars Gotrich – NPR
originally posted in NPR, All Songs Considered, July 11, 2017 →
“Even before you hear his guitar’s golden drone, Zachary Cale’s mesmerizing Louisiana drawl will suck you in. . . Duskland is Cale’s twilight, an album of fleeting, thorny significance.”
-STEREOGUM
“Blue Rider is an album obsessed with atmosphere, color, and feeling. Cale sings with a laid-back air, surrounded by a bed of droned-out guitars, reverb-drenched soundscapes, and a steady forward-moving percussive propulsion. It all conspires together to lull you into a drifting trance. It’s a milkshake of rollicking country, blues, ’60s rock, and modern singer-songwriter, painted in hues perfect for enriching a late night walk in the city.”
-The Key: WXPN
originally posted in XPN Folkadelphia Sessions January 23rd, 2014 →
“These songs can fill up space or carve it out, but either way Duskland marks another evolution in Cale’s sound, another shift in textures and sonic landscape that reflects the unique themes and beauties of this record. These songs are bittersweet, haunting yet hopeful, and endlessly listenable. Duskland is Cale’s golden hour.”
-POP MATTERS
“7.9 The first thing beckoning you towards Blue Rider is its atmosphere— spacious, cool, distant. Zachary Cale’s mesmerizing finger-picking, drawing on open-string drone and country blues tunings, wanders restlessly around a clean, well-lit place of a mix, synths humming like 3am refrigerators and chiming guitars confusing your sense of middle distance. It is a misty, gorgeous record, a space that feels wonderful to roam around in…”
-PITCHFORK
“Playing solo and with full band accompaniment, this loner/Leonard Cohen acolyte plays an accomplished guitar and writes serious lyrics with poetic depth.”
-STILL SINGLE/DUSTED MAGAZINE
originally posted in Dusted 2011 →
“New York transplant, Zachary Cale’s folk sound is as beautifully raw as they come. . . His unusual voice and poetic songwriting are pleasantly welcomed surprises.”
-CBS NEW YORK
originally posted in CBS NY February 6, 2011 →
Zachary Cale has been a fixture of the underground music scene in NYC for over 17 years. Often cited as a songwriter’s songwriter, his eclectic musical influences have guided his own unique style of songwriting. Whether alone with an acoustic guitar in an intimate room or on a festival stage with a full band, the song itself has always been his magnetic north. An expressive singer and masterful guitarist Cale has honed his craft over years of touring and recording.
US/CANADA: BONFIRE TOURING
joe@bonfiremusicgroup.com
EU/WORLD: ZACHARY CALE
zacharycale@gmail.com
XO PUBLICITY
Chris Estey
estey@xopublicity.com
TERROR BIRD
Josh Briggs
josh@terrorbird.com
